Beef burger stunt will fry BN
Above all, serving beef burgers in front of Ambiga’s house infuriated many Indians who, as staunch Hindus, denounce beef since cows are considered sacred. Ambiga is also a Hindu and a strict vegetarian probably because of her birth as a Brahmin. The Hindus from the Brahmin community are strict vegetarians.
RJ Rajah, Free Malaysia Today
During a recent “coffee shop” chat with friends, a question was thrown: “Who is the most popular Malaysian Indian leader now?” The majority answered without second thoughts: “Ambiga!”
That is the kind of popularity and respect enjoyed by S Ambiga among the Indians in this country although she is leading the Bersih movement as a multi-racial grouping for all Malaysians.
She is not known to be active in any of the Indian-based organisations. Still, she has become a role model for Indians fighting for their rights in this country and is often fondly referred to as “akka” (elder sister) by the younger generation of Indians.
Since the days of Hindraf in 2007, no other leader was able to emerge from the Indian community showing such a strong determination to deal with government authorities and the leadership skills to spearhead mammoth rallies such as Bersih 2.0 and Bersih 3.0.
Suddenly, Ambiga has become the darling of the Indian community and without any doubts, she would be able to influence a large segment of Indian voters in the forthcoming general election.
Beef burgers will cost BN
Naturally, the Indian community is also angry and upset about the attacks targeted against Ambiga for her role as the Bersih chairman and for organising Bersih 3.0.
Indian petty traders know how difficult it is to put up hawker stalls in Kuala Lumpur without proper permission from authorities such as DBKL but the manner in which a burger stall was erected in front of Ambiga’s house without any objection from the authorities has raised questions and sent signals that such actions had the tacit approval of the BN government.
The statement by Deputy IGP Khalid Abu Bakar that such stalls can be put up in front of Ambiga’s house has also shocked many and further crystallized the idea that the authorities were encouraging such actions to instill fear and apprehension among the organisers of Bersih 3.0 and its supporters.
Following the burger stall incident, the vulgar aerobic display in front of Ambiga’s house by some people calling themselves former Malay army personnel had also angered many Malaysians since it smacked of racism.
Above all, serving beef burgers in front of Ambiga’s house infuriated many Indians who, as staunch Hindus, denounce beef since cows are considered sacred. Ambiga is also a Hindu and a strict vegetarian probably because of her birth as a Brahmin. The Hindus from the Brahmin community are strict vegetarians.
The president of Hindu Sangam Mohan Shan issued a statement condemning the action to prepare and distribute beef burgers in front of Ambiga’s house. Hindu Sangam viewed this incident as an insult to the Hindu community and also questioned the authorities for keeping mum.